So long and thanks for all the fish!

staffAug 19, 2017

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….

I initially started writing as I was watching an event unfold that no one seemed to really be writing well about. The event in question was the attack by PanFam on former allies Test and Co2. This first piece was simply sent to INN as a user submission back in November 2016.

Stories in New Eden are to my mind one of the most compelling elements. Like some dramatic space opera unfolding over great lengths of time. With even the smallest of voices being able to contribute to the greater efforts of the choir. Despite the majority of players choosing to not live in nullsec, it is nullsec that in the main provides the stories that attract new people to the game.

These new players are the lifeblood of New Eden. Without them, the game would simply suffer attrition until it fell into obscurity. Many people often comment on how to “fix Eve” and yet all seem to miss the glaringly obvious. Many issues in Eve would simply disappear with twice as many players.

So I wrote stories for INN. All manner of subjects were covered. But despite the variety, I was pigeon-holed as being a “goon lackey”. This was fine and to be expected. Although if people were to revisit my earlier writings it would seem that I would frequently hit upon predictions later proven to be accurate.

The diversity of my writings were driven mainly by looking to simply see if I could. Although there were also times where I would write to help someone out. In all of these though I always focused on what was in game. The game is what was important after all and I had no personal agenda in self-promotion.

In this, I always tried to present things in a fair manner. Some claimed that what I wrote was simply propaganda and spin but when confronted to show why they fell silent or repeated their earlier claims. In the instance where I was shown to be wrong, I always made a point in correcting myself. To even leave in place my error so that the whole picture could be seen. I had no interest in always being right. Nor in brow beating others into submission through battles of comment attrition.

The Dark Side…

It was to be expected that I would invoke the ire of some in my writings. That was to be expected with the content of my articles. You see a “good story” should make people feel something. So as much as I wrote to entertain and amuse there would always be those that would be unhappy with such efforts.

Other contentious writers were inclined to write about Eve players using real life references. This is something that I did not condone and would always avoid in my own pieces. This was simply something that when I saw it happening I did nothing. I chose to just continue on doing my own thing.

Very early on in my writing, I found myself mentioned in other articles. The remarks were far from complimentary but as mentioned, this was no surprise. Personal attacks are the bread and butter of some writers. This “spicy” and “edgy” style is apparently low hanging fruit that is too hard to resist, especially given how well it serves them.

Examples of such pieces are easy to find. The authors of such content can also often be seen making slurs to any commentator questioning the veracity of the claims made.

It was while watching the Alliance Tournament on Sunday August 13 that a comment from CCP_Karkur struck a particular note with me. The comment was “who doesn’t enjoy @GTelkin rage?”, at 01:10:30 into the stream available here.

Now perhaps CCP_Karkur was completely unaware of the recent outburst from PL corporation leader Grath Telkin. In this churlish and hostile rant Grath wished real world harm on someone. All for no other reason than he did not like what was being said about a video game. If Grath were in his teens then you could perhaps forgive such foolishness. But as a grown man you have to question these actions.

What if the person on the receiving end of such an outburst actually was inclined to take such comments as directions to be followed? Everyone has good days and bad, and some struggle with life in general at points.

With this all in mind, I then found myself questioning my own participation in all of this. It seemed that not only had I become the target of such attacks myself but that inadvertently I was helping those prone to attacking others.

There those in Eve media circles that profess to be neutral and to deplore the actions of those making real world attacks. Yet all too often they remain silent when they could speak out. This silence is probably more reprehensible than the agitators. These self-proclaimed beacons of sensibility claim to have some sense of morality and the ability to distinguish real life from the in game. But despite this views and up-votes win the day.

Ashla

Therefore I have decided to cease my writings. My purpose was always to entertain and not to enable the foul vitriol of others. But before I leave I will gift you a brace of black cocks.
May you place them where you see fit.

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